NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – October 4, 2011.

In this morning’s roundup of early morning NHL headlines: Jaromir Jagr is winning over Flyers fans…Matt Duchene discusses his contract status with the Avalanche…The ageless Teemu Selanne…Wild’s new acquisitions failing so far to attract crowds…Mike Fisher sidelined for the start of the season…Matt D’Agostini hoping for more consistency…Panthers send Huberdeau back to Juniors…Sharks sign Winchester.

PHILLY.COM: Jaromir Jagr’s impressive preseason play has helped him win over Flyers fans, as well as his teammates.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: True, it was only preseason, but Jagr did look good in the games he played, and that could bode well heading into this season.

DENVER POST: Matt Duchene acknowledged fellow 2009 first round draft pick John Tavares recently signed an extension with the Islanders before his current deal expired, but while his agent hasn’t spoken with the Avs yet about a contract extension, claimed to be unconcerned about the situation.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Every team does things differently, and while Avs fans would probably prefer the club lock up Duchene now, it’s not unusual for teams to wait until season’s end to talk contract extension with their pending free agents. Duchene will be re-signed by the Avalanche at some point between now and next summer.

The ageless “Finnish Flash”.

LOS ANGELES TIMES: Entering what he claims will be his final NHL season, Anaheim Ducks winger Teemu Selanne reflects on his long career and his expectation of the reception he’ll receive in Finland as the Ducks play an exhibition game with Jokerit and their NHL season opener against Buffalo in Helsenki.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Selanne is a fine example of class, fitness and talent. Here’s hoping his final NHL season is a productive one.

STARTRIBUNE.COM: The Minnesota Wild’s off-season acqusitions of Dany Heatley and Devin Setoguchi has yet to translate into increased ticket sales for the club.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Maybe if the Wild were in a city or state where they supported hockey….ok, just kidding, little shot there at those who love to squawk about fans who don’t come out and support their team through thick or thin as not being true hockey fans.

Seriously, Wild fans have been disappointed too often in recent years and have a sense the team’s front office was just spinning its wheels, rather than doing anything productive to improve the club. Yes, they addressed their need for more offense this summer, but it appears, as the article suggests, Wild fans are in a “wait-and-see” mode. If the Wild end up playing a more exciting, competitive style, which puts them into playoff contention, the fans will come back.

THE TENNESSEAN: Nashville Predators center Mike Fisher will miss the club’s season opener, and likely more games, as he’s yet to be cleared for contact and has no timetable for his return following off-season shoulder surgery.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: And I picked him in one of my fantasy teams. Hurry back, Mike! Actually, it’s wise that he not rush things. Better he takes the time he needs now to return healthy, perhaps by late October or sometime in November.

STLTODAY.COM: Blues forward Matt D’Agostini hopes for a more consistent performance this season.

MIAMI HERALD: The Florida Panthers have decided to send promising forward Jonathan Huberdeau back to Junior for another season.

TSN.CA: The San Jose Sharks have signed forward Brad Winchester to a one-year contract. Financial terms weren’t disclosed.

6 Comments

Aj
on October 4, 2011 at 11:46 am

The Wild have been a work in progress for 2 years now. They changed the environment of that team by bringing in competent front office people in GM Fletcher and Mike Yeo as the coach from Pittsburgh where both were proven winners. Slowly they moved out players, only to bring in people like Setoguchi which will address the teams weakness of generating offense. They’re not completely there yet, but are well on their way. However given the past it is no surprise that as Spector says, they will take a “wait and see” approach to this team and I don’t blame them. I will expect them to be fairly impressed with the finished product this year which is only going to get better.

Dabroons
on October 4, 2011 at 1:14 pm

The Wild have been a work in progress since they entered the NHL. Their biggest mistake was hiring Lemaire as their coach–the man who turned the NHL into the most boring league in the world. Good riddance that he finally retired. Their next biggest mistake was their poor drafting and third their poor player development. The attendance has been better than their poor management has deserved. Hopefully, they will play better and more exciting hockey now.

Innovator
on October 4, 2011 at 1:35 pm

Lemaire will be back this season when the devils struggle and Lou decides to fire Peter DeBoer

chaas
on October 4, 2011 at 3:33 pm

Figures i took Huberdeau in the last round of my draft last night…

tuxedoTshirt
on October 4, 2011 at 5:40 pm

The long-suffering fans of Minnesota deserve a real team; what a tragedy, they still have one of the most supported teams in hockey. I suspect they’ll at least be able to score on the PP this year.

Ranzeir
on October 4, 2011 at 10:51 pm

Fisher has played a hell for leather style of hockey since he broke into the league. Trouble is that he’s not 23 anymore. Great person and player, he’ll undoubtably help his team providing he stays healthy.

Notice:

“We use third-party advertising companies to serve ads when you visit our Website. These companies may use information (not including your name, address email address or telephone number) about your visits to this and other Web sites in order to provide advertisements about goods and services of interest to you. If you would like more information about this practice and to know your choices about not having this information used by these companies, http://www.networkadvertising.org/managing/opt_out.asp